George Osborne has suggested that Britain should not price itself out of international energy markets by placing too heavy an environmental burden on suppliers.

The Chancellor was speaking after a landmark report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that global warming was "unequivocal" and human influence on the climate clear.

It also comes after Ed Miliband pledged that Labour would freeze energy bills if it won the next election.Interviewed ahead of the Tory party conference, Mr Osborne told The Times:

I want to provide for the country the cheapest energy possible, consistent with having it reliable, in other words as a steady supply, and consistent with us playing our part in an international effort to tackle climate change.

But I don't want us to be the only people out there in front of the rest of the world. I certainly think we shouldn't be further ahead of our partners in Europe.

The Chancellor George Osborne is to warn the environmental lobby that Britain should not be “in front of the rest of the world” in tackling climate change.

In an interview with The Times on the eve of the Conservative Party conference, he admitted the Government would keep a "very, very close eye on the affordability of energy prices going forward", but he dismissed Labour leader Ed Miliband's price freeze plans.